Press Release  AG Campbell Announces $700 Million Settlement With Google Over Play Store Misconduct Violating Antitrust And Consumer Protection Laws

Boston — Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell and a bipartisan group of 52 other attorneys general today announced a $700 million agreement with Google in their lawsuit over Google’s anticompetitive conduct with the Google Play Store. In addition to restitution to consumers, Massachusetts will receive more than $1.4 million in penalties as part of the settlement agreement.  

“For years, Google has harmed consumers and app developers alike by restricting consumer’s choices for app stores, downloads, and payment methods on Android devices. Our settlement helps impacted consumers and requires Google to reform its anticompetitive business practices,” said AG Campbell. “My office will continue to protect consumers and ensure that businesses can fairly compete in the digital economy.”  

Google will pay approximately $630 million, the bulk of which will be distributed as restitution to consumers who made purchases on the Google Play Store between August 2016 and September 2023 and were harmed by Google’s anticompetitive practices. Google will pay the states an additional $70 million in penalties, including more than $1.4 million to Massachusetts. People eligible for restitution do not have to submit a claim – they will receive automatic payments through PayPal or Venmo, or they can elect to receive a check or ACH transfer. More details about that process will be forthcoming.  

The agreement also requires Google to make their business practices procompetitive in a number of important ways.  These include ensuring that Android users can download apps outside of the Google Play Store and that app developers can use their own or other payment processing and billing – not just Google’s billing system. This will enable app developers to offer less expensive apps and in-app products to consumers. 

The attorneys general sued Google in 2021 alleging that Google unlawfully monopolized the markets for Android app distribution and in-app payment processing. Specifically, the States claimed that Google signed anticompetitive contracts to prevent other app stores from being preloaded on Android devices, bought off key app developers who might have launched rival app stores, and created technological barriers to deter consumers from directly downloading apps to their devices. The states announced a settlement in principle on September 5, 2023, and today released the finalized terms of that deal.  

The settlement requires Google to reform its business practices in the following ways: 

• Give all developers the ability to allow users to pay through in-app billing systems other than Google Play Billing for at least five years. 
• Allow developers to offer cheaper prices for their apps and in-app products for consumers who use alternative, non-Google billing systems for at least five years. 
• Permit developers to steer consumers toward alternative, non-Google billing systems by advertising cheaper prices within their apps themselves for at least five years. 
• Not enter contracts that require the Play Store to the be the exclusive, pre-loaded app store on a device or home screen for at least five years. 
• Allow the installation of third-party apps on Android phones from outside the Google Play Store for at least seven years. 
• Revise and reduce the warnings that appear on an Android device if a user attempts to download a third-party app from outside the Google Play Store for at least 5 years. 
• Maintain Android system support for third-party app stores, including allowing automatic updates, for four years. 
• Not require developers to launch their app catalogs on the Play Store at the same time as they launch on other app stores for at least four years. 
• Submit compliance reports to an independent monitor who will ensure that Google is not continuing its anticompetitive conduct for at least 5 years. 

For much of this case, the attorneys general litigated alongside Epic Games and Match, two major app developers. Match announced a separate settlement earlier this year, while Epic Games took its case to trial. A jury unanimously found that Google’s anticompetitive conduct violated the federal antitrust laws early last week. 

Joining Attorney General Campbell in this lawsuit were the Attorneys General of all 50 states, along with the Attorneys General of the District of Columbia and the territories of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. This lawsuit was led by the Attorneys General of North Carolina, Utah, Tennessee, New York, and California.   

In Massachusetts, this matter was handled by Division Chief William Matlack and Deputy Division Chief Michael MacKenzie of the AG’s Antitrust Division.  

A copy of the settlement is available here. 

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